The Problem

Many climate-tech startups fail at the Series B or C stage because scaling costs were never properly understood.

At some point, a third-party (due-diligence expert, EPC, consultant) is brought in to conduct a cost estimate (AACE class 4 or equivalent). When the results come back, the large-scale equipment/installation/plant will often cost significantly more than the startup originally anticipated — enough to derail the entire business.

Common failure modes:

• Core tech has hidden cost flaws that emerge only at scale

• Un-optimized process and balance-of-plant design

• Loose, top-down “cost-factored” estimation methodology with poor grounding in the actual design

Each of these can result in missed targets, blown budgets, and ultimately — bankruptcy.

A Better Way

What if these issues were caught earlier, at the seed stage, or series A?

By doing rigorous, bottom-up cost estimation early — even when the hardware is only at the lab scale — you gain critical visibility into the economic feasibility of your design.

This lets you:

• Identify and pivot from costly core tech flaws

• Optimize your design when changes are still cheap

• Keep later-stage EPCs and cost estimators honest

• Build credible financial models to raise capital more effectively

Who we serve:

Start-ups

Avoid surprises at Series B or C by understanding your scale-up costs now. We help you build a grounded cost estimation plan — starting from your earliest prototypes.

Investors

Gain confidence in your diligence process and help portfolio companies stay on track. Identify red flags, cost risks, and optimization opportunities before millions are spent.

Services

Cost estimation and value-engineering consulting

Review of 3rd party estimates

Techno-economic due diligence

About Zerion

Zerion Advisory is a part-time consulting service by Radu Gogoana, who heads cost estimation and commercial analytics at Electric Hydrogen. Radu has created bottom-up cost estimates for industrial process plants ranging from $50M to $500M in total installed cost — including the world’s largest PEM hydrogen electrolysis plant, currently under construction in Texas.

Prior to Electric Hydrogen, he led a decarbonization initiative at X (formerly Google X), where his team developed and validated a promising lab-scale technology — only to determine 3 years into the effort that the economics didn’t work out as hoped. This experience, along with multiple sub-par engagements with EPC firms regarding cost estimation, galvanized his belief in rigorous, early-stage cost estimation as critical to the success of new clean technologies.

Radu’s engineering and design background spans lithium-ion battery development, global automotive manufacturing, personal cooling, water purification, machine olfaction and hydrogen production - leading to 14 patent filings. Outside of his work at Electric Hydrogen, he engages on a part-time consulting basis with start-ups and investors in areas outside of hydrogen electrolysis.

In his free-time, Radu enjoys engaging his toddler and spouse in 3D printing, TIG welding, fixing cars, DIY home foundation and structural repair, and home energy efficiency improvement projects that average >10% IRR.